Fastening device



July 18, 1933. G. F. SHEARMAN 6 FASTENING DEVICE Filed Oct. 26, 1932 7 /0 Inventor ,GaoryeFJ/zearmam pwm Patented July 18, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE F. SHEARMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR O1! ONE-HALF '10 JOHN D.

NEWTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS FASTENING DEVICE Application filed October 26, 1932. Serial No. 689,884.

This invention relates to fastening devices, and more particularly, to spikes, nails, tacks and fastening devices of a similar character.

The object of the invention is to provide a spike, nail or tack having an improved pointed end whereby the fastening element may be driven into a block or piece of wood or the like and when finally driven home, will be firmly locked against withdrawal.

A nail made in accordance with the pres ent invention will be found especially adapted for securely binding two or more pieces or blocks of wood together and especially for seenrin the walls of wooden boxes or crates toget ier, particularly crates used for shipping purposes. s V

The invention together with its numerous objects and advantages will be best understood from a study of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a nail embodying the features of the invention.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view through the nail adjacent the pointed end thereof, and r Figure 3 is a view of the pointed end of the nail taken at right angles to Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing by reference numerals 5 indicates the shank of a wire nail having a head 6 at one end. The shank 5 is made of the usual rounded form and is preferably provided with a smooth surface throughout its length. At that end thereof remote from the head 6, the shank of the nail is pointed and in accordance with the pres ent invention the pointed end is polygonal in cross section and the angles formed by the sides of said pointed end provide cutting edges all of which meet at the apex or point of the-nail end.

In the present instance the pointed end of the nail has a cross section as will be readily seen from a study of the drawing so that said end is provided with six cutting edges four of which are designated by the reference numerals 7 and the remaining two by the referencenumeralsS. The faces or sides of said pointed end of the nail are wide at the top and diminished in width at the point of the nail and at relatively opposite sides of the nail shank the faces forming the clined toward the longitudinal dimensions or I axis of the nail shan In driving the improved nail, the latter is placed with its point -10 against the surface of the piece or block of wood into which it is to be driven, and as the nail is driven into the wood the cuttin edges 7 and 8 will cleave through the wood Ebers and will not tear or split them so that there will be no splitting of the wood which is obviously a great advantage. I

By reason of the herein described improvement in the point or driving end of the nail, the latter will be caused to move in a true perpendicular path in its downward course through the wood, and the point of the nail will cause a slight spiral twist of the nail as it is being driven, and this slight spiral twist gives the inverted barbs 9 an opportunity to embed their point into unfractured wood fibers so that when the nail is finall driven home the same will be firmly locked against withdrawal, since any attempt to withdraw the nail, either by force orpressure, will cause the two inverted barbs 9 to penetrate at different angles into the wood, thus anchoring the nails s'ecurel Even though I have herein shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of further changes, modifications and improvements coming within the scope of the appended claim. a

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

A nail of the class described comprising an elongated cylindrical shank provided at one end with a flat head, and at a relatively opposite end with a driving point, said nail at the driving point thereof having on two opposite sides thereof flat tapered faces, said faces wardly to provide inverted pointed barbs having sharpened edges merging into and forming continuations of the aforementioned cutting edges; and the first mentioned flattened faces where they merge with said additional flat tapered faces forming additional elongated cutting edges converging at the point of the nail.

GEORGE F. SHEARMAN. 

